— Chapter Two —
The Toyota Hilux pulled into the large main car park of Savarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. Stu and Spock stepped out, much to the relief of Stu who had endured two hours of Spock’s wittering about that bloody sprat that he’d caught, and recipes that he could have used to cook it and, to top off the already shitty day Stu was having, just before they’d arrived at the airport, Spock pulled out the hat, given to him after their last adventure, which had spent the past few years gathering mould in his wardrobe.
“Adventure hat matey, you shouldn’t leave home without one.” Spock had told him
Stu groaned, surprised by the appearance of the hat ‘All we need now is the mad monks stupid mullet and that would really round the day off’ he thought.
Luckily, for Stu, a frantic Pon didn’t wear his mullet as he met them at the arrivals entrance. He greeted them and led them through the airport and into the cordoned off V.I.P lounge. Inside, a myriad of laptop computers and uniformed officials chatted away on mobile phones, both in Thai and Vietnamese. Pon went over to Taksin, who coordinated the operation.
“Have you heard anything yet?” enquired Pon
“Nothing at all” said Taksin who looked concerned as he greeted Stu and Spock and continued. “Kim’s father has mobilised his security teams and had road blocks and search parties out since the late afternoon, but nothing. He told me that the last sighting of Kim had been when she’d checked in her luggage, although a passenger did remember seeing a Vietnamese lady leave the departure lounge and meet someone outside.
Taksin looked at the anxious Pon and said
“It doesn’t appear that there is much you can do here, why don’t you take care of Stu and Spock and any developments I will call you.”
“You are right, Khun Taksin, I will be of more use at the palace, please inform me if there is any news.”
Pon had arranged two rooms to be prepared in his quarters for Stu and Spock .and they drove to the Palace.
“Thank you for coming to help me. Kim was insistant that she spoke to you the last time we talked, so maybe together we can shed some light on this subject.”
A few hours later as Pon, Stu and Spock where sat in Pon’s quarters discussing the events, the phone rang.
“Hello Thran, any news?” said Pon frantically
A conversation then took place in English as Pon couldn’t speak much Vietnamese and Kim’s father spoke no Thai. Spock and Stu therefore could understand the conversation and what they gleaned thus far, Kim had been kidnapped.
Several minutes into the conversation Pon looked at Spock, Stu
“Wait a moment Thran” said Pon, and he pressed the speakerphone button so the lads could hear the rest of the conversation
“Could you repeat the last part so my English friends can listen?”
“Certainly” said Thran, with a tremble in his voice he told them told the shortened version about how he’d received a phone call stating Kim had been abducted and, although she was safe for now, they insisted we must call off the search or she would be harmed.” Then Thran repeated the part of the conversation that Pon wanted the lads to hear.
“The caller sounded English and I think that I know this man, he came to my house before my wife, Nga got sick.”
“What did he want?” stammered Pon.
Thran then went explain that the man wouldn’t say only that he would contact them again the following day, unless he saw any police searching or suspected that they were investigating, in which case they would have to accept the consequences. Then the man hung up.
“Did they trace the call?”Enquired Pon
“No” said Thran and continued “it was made from a state of the art scrambled Satellite phone, which wasn’t anything we have ever come across before. We checked with the US military to see if it is something that they had developed, but they said no. I have called off the search for now, but I have instructed my internal security forces to start undercover investigations.”
“Is that wise?” asked Pon
“They are the best and discreet, they will inform me of every step before they take it” said Thran. “She is my only daughter and they will pay for this with their lives” He nervously raged.
“She is also my beloved wife and Samnan’s mother.” Pon informed him
There was a pause and Thran said softly
“I know Pon, sorry. I am a little edgy and angry. Good night my son-in-law, I will call you when they contact me again and please give my grandson a hug”.
Thran hung up the phone and the three friends sat and looked at one another. Pon had many thoughts and emotions running through his head and they felt a menace in the air, which Pon couldn’t understand. But Pon, the Tinju Prime master and unbeknownst to Thran, a highly trained assassin, would find out and exact his own revenge. However for now, all they could do was wait. E situation felt grim and Pon felt helpless. Spock leaned over to Pon and put his large arm around the small monks shoulder and whispered
“I caught a whopper of a fish today.”
Dao and Moo had been chatting after the lads had departed and wondered what could have happened to Kim. She was like a sister to them and they were concerned.
Stu had called Dao earlier and told them they’d arrived at the airport and would call them when he had more news.
As the girls had heard nothing for a few hours they decided to go to bed, Moo decided to stay in Dao’s spare room so that she was close by in case they received any news. Dao’s mobile phone rang and she looked at the caller’s number. She looked nervously at Moo who glared back. Dao took the call and said.
“Hello John”
After speaking for a short while Dao said
“No problem, I will see you tomorrow, call me when you get here”
Dao finished the call and looked nervously at Moo, who glared at her.
“Come on” said Dao trying to justify her action “We are Thai and we did it when we had been workings girls, this is only for money and sex. I love Stu and I will finish with John this time”
Moo firmly reminded Dao.
“We are now wives, and if Stu find out you’d betrayed him, you will suffer, you have been lucky so far, but if you spoil things for Spock and I, our friendship will be over, do you understand, Dao?”
A chastised Dao nodded, but Moo knew she’d lied.
After Spock and Stu’s first visit to Thailand many years earlier, Dao and Moo returned to Pattaya and went back to work in the happy world bar.
Over the next few weeks Moo went with a few men, short time sex. Dao had stayed in the bar with the other girls trying to learn English and wait for Stu. However, the mamasan told Dao that Stu would not come back, they very rarely did Mamasan became insistent that Dao go with other foreigners in order to make money to support the bar, and her family.
“Besides” she told her “Stu hadn’t been sending her any money, so he couldn’t have cared that much.” Mamasan tried her hardest to convince her, but Dao felt certain that Stu would return, but to keep mamasan happy she started to be more outgoing and stayed close to Moo to learn the tricks. A few weeks went by and two foreigners came into the bar. One, a quiet unassuming, middle-aged man, the other, a brash mouthy character who went straight over to Dao and Moo.
“Hello sexy man” said Moo
The brash man responded,
“You’re nice, if I buy you a Bacardi Breezer will you ride me like Sea-biscuit”
He then burst out roaring with laughter at his own wit knowing that the Thais wouldn’t understand.
The two men ordered Dao and Moo Bacardi Breezers and started to talk to the girls. The brash individual introduced himself as Taff from Wales and the other man called John, also Welsh and they intended to stay in Pattaya for a week.
They stayed in the bar for about an hour talking, and then the men paid the bar fines for the girls.
Dao was nervous around John, she did not want to be with him, but because of the pressure exerted by Moo and mamasan, to enjoy herself, as this was their job and besides, it would only be for a week.
Dao relaxed after a few days of fun with the welsh lads and started to enjoy being with John, who seemed a patient man and helped her with her English language. They had paid a thousand baht a day to the girls, plus bar fine. They drank in the Happy World bar every night, so everyone was pleased. Dao never felt the same excitement or affection for John as she did with Stu, but he gave her money.
Taff and John departed a week later, Dao and Moo returned to bar work. John told Dao that he would keep in contact and Taff told Moo that he wouldn’t see her again, she was too wild, which suited Moo as she liked the non-committal short timers and loved Spock.
However, the thunderbolt had struck, John.
John kept to his word and called Dao frequently, and sent her 20,000 baht a month, without fail.
Stu and Spock returned to Pattaya a few weeks after the Welsh lads had gone home and rekindled their romances with the girls over the next fortnight and blissfully ignorant of what the girls needed to do to make a living.
Over the next few years Stu and Spock had made frequent visits as did John, although usually at different times. If Stu and John came out at the same time Dao would usually stay with Stu, but sneak out to see John, but lied to him her baby about her baby being sick and having to go home to her village. She occasionally told the same story to Stu, if John had booked an excursion away from Pattaya. This arrangement suited Dao for a while until things got serious with Stu.
Dao didn’t tell John she was marrying Stu as she knew how he felt about her and did not want to hurt him, besides, Stu had been her first, long-time boyfriend.
Now married and had everything she had always dreamed about and had almost forgotten about John. That was up until a few months ago, when she and Moo were setting up the shop on Threpasit and a familiar voice behind her said.
“Hello Dao”
She turned around and saw John, smiling like a puppy that had been given a shoe to chew.
She smiled and said, “Hello John, how are you?”
They engaged in a short conversation about her changing her phone number and how John had spent the last couple of years trying to trace her and thought about her all the time, telling her that he still loved her and was happy to see her again.
Moo had known about John for many years, but couldn’t say anything to Spock, as this was the Thai way and besides, it was at Moo’s insistence Dao went with John in the first place. Dao and John chatted for several minutes and John asked.
“Can I see you later?”
Dao saw the hopeful look in John’s eye’s and agreed to meet him later. She knew that Stu and Spock would be out until late and she and Moo usually closed the shop around 10pm and went home. She agreed to meet John at 8pm much to the annoyance of Moo, which meant she would be packing the shop stock away alone.
Dao met John in The Green Onion, a small restaurant on second road, she knew she would be safe meeting John there as it was a place she and John had eaten together many times before, and a place Stu never went near.
Dao told John about Stu, who wanted to know why she never told him before. John had sent her a lot of money over the years that he’d said he didn’t care because he just wanted to be with her.
Dao had not taken to being westernised or bar work as quickly as Moo, she was still gullible. To have two or more boyfriends was normal, mamasan had told her it was only her work until a commitment was made by the ferang, foreigner.
Moo only went short times for business and once she committed to Spock that stopped. However Dao had grown fond of two foreigners.
Dao became confused and although Stu was now her husband and she loved him, John still wanted her and had sent her a lot of money in the past.
They finished eating and John pleaded.
“Will you come to my room and talk some more.”
Dao felt sorry for John, who told her he slept alone and assured her would never take another girl, now he had seen her again. Dao nervously agreed and they left the restaurant and went to John’s hotel.
Over the next few months, Dao had liaisons with John, unbeknownst to Stu. She didn’t know how to say no to John, she realised that she had broken his heart, so felt guilty and remorseful and spent the odd day and occasional a few hours at night with John when he came to Pattaya. This wasn’t a problem in Dao’s mind, as she now only had feelings for Stu, her husband
Moo had tried to talk Dao into ending the affair with John many times, she told Dao secret trysts were, although commonplace in Thailand, it wasn’t accepted by westerners.
Pon and Stu stayed awake all night. Pon was worried and restless, and Stu couldn’t sleep through Spocks snoring.
The telephone rang at 6am, it was Thran.
Pon put on the speakerphone so they could all hear.
“Good morning everyone” said Thran “I have received a call from the kidnappers, this time however the voice was synthesised, unidentifiable. The conversation was brief and had instructions for you, Pon”
Pon looked bewildered and Thran went on to inform them.
“On Kim’s flight there would be two unclaimed pieces of luggage, Kim’s and one other belonged to, a Mr. Lang Duc, it was a green holdall with a North Territory logo, and you will find instructions in that. That was all he said”.
“Ok” said Pon “I will check and inform you later of the contents and hopefully a plan”
Pon called the airport to retrieve the luggage and conduct a search for the whereabouts of Mr Lang Duc.
Pon, Stu and Spock arrived at the airport an hour later and were met by Taksin, who hustled them through to the operations centre in the VIP lounge. A holdall was on a table with its contents laid out, which were some old clothes, rags and a large envelope addressed to:
Prime Master, Pon Meesilli,
“This was laid on top of that pile of clothes,” said Taksin.
“What about Lang Duc?” enquired Pon?
Taksin showed Pon two copies of photographs from the computer records of entries and exits.
“Lang Duc arrived on Kim’s flight in the afternoon and never claimed his baggage” said Taksin pointing to one image, “and Mr Huer Deng departed on the Vietnam flight at 6:30pm” showing him the other photograph
“Same man, different name and passports” exclaimed Pon “That’s why they waited and called in the evening to give their man chance to get away and back into Vietnam. This has been carefully planned”
“Shall we call Vietnam” enquired Taksin “and find him.”
“No “said Pon, “He will be long gone and we don’t know his real name, but I will mention it to Thran later, they may have his picture on their databases”.
Pon took the envelope and ripped open the seal. He pulled out a sheet of A4 typed paper and read it. A strange look came over his face as he pulled out the rest of the contents. There were several aged photographs, newspaper clippings and a Compact disc.
Pon read the letter:
If you want to see Kim Meesilli / Hern Tangh, alive you must follow the instructions on the enclosed DVD.
The letter then carried on to spell out the individuals who should be involved, along with the kidnaper’s demands. Pon and Taksin had seen the clippings and photographs before they had been uncovered in an investigation several years earlier.
Pon showed the letter to Stu and Spock and they looked at the newspaper clippings. One in particular caught their attention. It was an old picture of them with Pon, Taksin, some officials and royals taken outside the ‘temple of the sacred light’ and because the article was in Thai, Pon translated it for them. Pon, Stu and Spocks heads had been circled by a red marker pen on the clipping.
They looked baffled at one another.
“This is what they wanted in exchange for Kim,” said Pon handing Stu an enlarged photograph.
The lads stared at the photograph and, as Pon ordered a DVD player to be brought in, Stu whispered to Spock, and showed him a picture that he was holding.
“That fu***ing box will be the death of us”
“Another adventure matey, maybe catch some fish” smiled Spock trying to lighten the situation.
A DVD player and TV were set up. Pon placed the disc into the slot and pressed play. There was silence in the room as the disc loaded and then a face that had been digitally distorted, appeared on the screen.